Customer-centered transportation aggregator

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for generating available transportation modes based on location data of a user. Methods and systems retrieve metrics relating at least to time, cost and risk of each available transportation mode. Methods and systems analyze the available transportation modes and the associated metrics based on criteria related to time, cost, and risk factors. Methods and systems determine a transportation recommendation based on the analyzing. Methods and systems output the transportation recommendation to a user electronic device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 analyzing, via a processor, a plurality of different transportation options available to a user based on criteria related to time, cost, and risk factors;   generating, via a processor, at least one transportation recommendation based on the analyzing; and   providing, via a processor, an output that includes the at least one transportation recommendation to a user electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the analyzing comprises taking into account user preferences relating to priority of time, cost and risk. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein risk relates to a certainty of arrival time and route safety in terms of safety from crime and/or safety from accidents or a composite thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the analyzing step is unbiased to any particular transportation mode in the absence of set user preferences to the contrary. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transportation recommendations favor certain user-defined transportation modes in accordance with a user's set preferences. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising assessing, via a processor, a level of familiarity to a user of a selected transportation recommendation and adapting a level of detail of guidance provided to the user based on the level of familiarity. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different transportation options include transportation options owned by a user, personal transportation options accessible by a user and communal transportation options accessible by a user and the analyzing step comprises analyzing each combination of the different transportation options. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving at least one travel mode selected from the transportation recommendations; and   initiating a reservation, ticketing, dispatching, renting, hiring or purchasing, related to the selected travel mode.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transportation recommendations accommodate a multi-modal transportation option that includes a plurality of different transportation modes. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting a selector user interface that allows the user to indicate which trip attributes or criteria are prioritized for a particular trip.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the selector comprises a time priority indicator, a cost priority indicator, and a safety/risk priority indicator. 
     
     
         12 . A system for providing at least one transportation recommendation, the system comprising:
 modules operating on at least one of a mobility assistant server and a mobility assistant device, wherein the modules comprise:   a travel requirement module for receiving a travel requirement request for a user of the mobility assistant device, wherein the travel requirement request comprises at least one destination location;   a transportation modality module configured to generate available transportation modes based at least on a location of the user and configured to retrieve metrics relating at least to time, cost and risk of each available transportation mode;   an analyzer module configured to analyze the available transportation modes and the associated metrics based on criteria related to time, cost, and risk factors to determine at least one transportation recommendation; and   an output module configured to output the at least one transportation recommendation to a user electronic device.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the travel requirement module is configured to access information sources over a network to generate the available transportation modes and to retrieve the associated metrics. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , comprising an execution module configured to execute payment, reservation or other transactions associated with a transportation recommendation. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , comprising a user preferences module configured to set a weighting of priority of time, cost and risk according to user preference. 
     
     
         16 . A computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to be executed by a processor to perform the steps of:
 generating available transportation modes based at least on location data of a user;   retrieving metrics relating at least to time, cost and risk of each available transportation mode;   analyzing the available transportation modes and the associated metrics based on criteria related to time, cost, and risk factors;   determining at least one transportation recommendation based on the analyzing; and   outputting the at least one transportation recommendation to a user electronic device.   
     
     
         17 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the processor-executable instructions are configured to be executed by a processor to perform the step of obtaining user preferences relating to at least one of potential pollution exposure; potential ecological impact; fitness goals; electric or hybrid vehicle efficiency; traffic impact; potentially scenic route; cellular/data connectivity; environmental aspects; smoothness of ride; willingness to walk; willingness to cycle. 
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the processor-executable instructions are configured to be executed by a processor to perform the step of obtaining user preferences relating to a relative weight of the time, cost and risk factors to be used in the analyzing step. 
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the processor-executable instructions are configured to be executed by a processor to perform the step of executing a selected travel recommendation by performing at least one of initiating a reservation, ticketing, renting, purchasing, or other action. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the computer-readable medium comprises processor-executable instructions configured to be executed by the processor to perform the step of determining at least one transportation recommendation based on the analyzing by determining at least one transportation recommendation comprising a plurality of different transportation modes.